THE SUM OF OUR DAYS by Isabel Allende

Isabel Allende, The Sum of Our Days, translated from Spanish by Margaret Sayers Peden (HarperCollins, 2008). Also available in Spanish.

On CD read by Blair Brown (Harperaudio, 2008).

(Memoir)

Reviewed by Wilda Morris

On the library sale shelf I found a recording of The Sum of Our Days. I was familiar with the author’s name and knew she was a best-selling and award-winning author. I also knew she was famous for writing magical realism, a genre with which I’m not very familiar. I thought I might give Allende a try. I was disappointed to learn that this book is not fiction; it is the fourth memoir written by Allende.

The Sum of Our Days covers thirteen years following the death of Allende’s daughter, Paula. Allende drew upon letters she wrote to her mother during the time period covered, as well as memories (hers and others). She submitted the manuscript to friends and family members about whom she wrote, allowing them to “opt out.”

I didn’t find myself engrossed in the intimate details of Allende’s affair with Willie (which became a lasting relationship) or with the entanglements of her friends and family members. Had I already been a fan of Allende, or had I read her book, Paula, first, I might have enjoyed this book more.

I wonder if she couldn’t have fictionalized the life of Tabra, the maker of folk jewelry, and/or that of her daughter-in-law, Celia, who changed more than anyone else in the book during the time period covered. I suspect such novels would have captured my interest more than this memoir. But it is too late—she has already given away too much of their stories.

I was not totally disinterested or bored—I did listen to the entire book on CD. And someday will look for one of the novels of magical realism.